The 17th Shear Madness challenge was all about bold, bright color and we had some brilliant and beautiful costumes submitted! We are so excited to see what you folks have in store for our next group costuming challenge:
Challenge #18 “UNDER THE SEA”
This challenge is for all costumers of all levels and all genres!
The love of water inspired our latest challenge theme. Create an outfit or accessory with a nautical or ocean theme: mermaids, aquatic superheroes, Victorian seaside dresses, vintage swimwear, and more!
The submission deadline is October 1st, 2018 at midnight CST.
The Rules
1. Any costume completed between July 1st, 2017 (last year) and the deadline of October 1st, 2018 qualifies! When you began your submission doesn’t matter as long as it was FINISHED within the time period of 7/1/2017 – 10/1/2018! The submissions window is open beginning July 1st, 2018 and closes on October 1st, 2018 at midnight CST.
2. Qualifying entries should have an nautical/ocean theme or color palette.
3. This challenge is for complete costumes or stand-alone wearable accessories (hats, shoes, corsets, etc.) for humans of all ages, shapes, and sizes. Costumes for pets, dolls, etc. don’t qualify for this challenge but may in a future challenge.
4. 75% of the piece must be made or modified by you. 25% of your entry can be unaltered/purchased items. For example, if you buy a hat to wear as-is, it will factor into the 25%, but if you cover it in fishing net and shells as part of an outfit, it may be counted as part of the 75%.
5. We want to see your creativity and hard work on display, not someone else’s! Recreations of fashion plates, paintings, digital artwork, etc. are perfectly fine, but if you do reinterpret or take inspiration from someone else’s previous design, please give proper credit to them in your submission description. If you are portraying a character, please include the character’s name and the title of the show/book/artwork in which they appear!
— You are not required to enter a challenge to join the Facebook Group, but it is encouraged!—
How to Submit Your Challenge Entry
Challenge entries must be submitted to:
shearmadnesscostumes@gmail.com
before midnight CST on October 1st, 2018!
—-> Submissions must include Your name, a TITLE for your entry, up to 5 PICTURES, and a DESCRIPTION.
TITLE: Every work of art needs a good title! For example “1830s Cinderella” or “Red Wedding Guest” or “Alucard” or “Dolly Parton Goes To Ren Fair” etc.
PHOTOS: Photos are VERY IMPORTANT and can make or break an entry! Outfits can be displayed on mannequins or dress forms, but photos of it being worn by a human are preferred! Make sure you have at least one straight-on front shot so all the details can be seen! Include close-ups of specific details you are proud of like embellishment, process photos, alternate angles, etc. LIMIT OF 5 PHOTOS PER ENTRY, PLEASE!
DESCRIPTION: Along with your photos, include a description of your piece. Tell us about what makes your entry special! Did you try any new techniques? Is it made for particular person/persona? Have you worn it to any events? If you ran into any problems you had to tackle, tell us how you solved them. Judges greatly appreciate construction details! Winning entries will have excerpts from their submission descriptions published on the blog.
—> Be sure to give credit to any artists if you chose to reinterpret their artwork!
If you can, please include a photo of the artwork and/or a link to the original source.
HAVE FUN! This is not something we want you to agonize over. This is to be a fun and inspiring challenge for you as a costumer to help you grow and express yourself. And if the entire thing doesn’t get finished? Oh well! Share or submit what you have!
Limit of two (2) entries per person per challenge. Previous winning costume entries cannot be re-submitted.
NOTE!
Costumes posted to Facebook will not be counted as part of the challenge—they must be submitted via email (shearmadnesscostumes@gmail.com) to qualify. Contestants can share the progress of their outfits on their blogs or on the Shear Madness Facebook page. However, please do not post entries in their final state on the Facebook page until after judging is complete.
Judging and Awards
The judges will review the entries and the winners will be announced during the first week of October 2018. There will be 1st, 2nd and 3rd winners, as well as honorable mentions as chosen by the judges. Winners will be given a Shear Madness logo with their winning placement for display on their blog/website and will have their creations featured in the header on the Facebook group page! All submissions will have a photo featured on the Challenge’s final blog post.
Group administrators and moderators have the final say on any rules for challenges and may update them as needed.
Shear Madness! 
What about something that was never quite finished, but was mostly done, and worn publicly, before the earlier date?
When you began the project doesn’t matter so much as when it was finished. If you considered the outfit to be incomplete at the time, but now you’ve finished it within the challenge date range, then you’re welcome to submit it. 🙂